French priest at heart of church abuse scandal defrocked

LYON: The French Catholic church has defrocked a priest charged with abusing dozens of boy scouts in a scandal that saw a cardinal convicted of a cover-up, according to a ruling seen by AFP Thursday. The allegations against priest Bernard Preynat sparked the biggest crisis in the French church in decades, drawing in its most influential cleric, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. The decision was taken by the church’s ecclesiastical court. “In light of the facts and their recurrence, the large number of victims, the fact that Bernard Preynat abused the authority vested in him within the scout group... the court has decided to impose the maximum penalty under Church law in such a case, namely, the removal of his status as a priest,” it said. Preynat, 74, has one month to appeal the ruling.